Since its release on April 28th people have been flocking to toy stores across Japan to get their hands on toymaker Takara Tomy’s Kuru Kuuuuru Eco-Fan (Round and Rooooouuund Eco-Fan), so much so that their original 60,000 units had to be upped to an additional shipment of 120,000 to meet the demand.

It seems since abandoning much of the nuclear power in Japan, people’s minds are set on alternative means of keeping cool while saving electric costs or during potential black outs.  The reason everyone wants this particular toy fan is because of the sheer wind power it has.  For every one turn of the hand, the fan blade spins 100 times.

Despite its looks, it’s a highly efficient fan whose simple construction of gears provides a highly concentrated gust of wind with no electricity needed.  Because it was designed for kids, it’s made of lightweight material that’s both durable and gentle to avoid accidental injury if the blades hit your face.

Also since it’s a toy there’s a variety of styles to choose from featuring Pikachus and whatnot.  Plus they come with a strap so you can rock your Sugar Bunnies fan around your neck 24/7.

For only 630 yen (US$8.60) each, they’re a steal as long as you don’t mind the emasculating characters on them.  As of this writing, only the Pikachu and Cars styles were not sold out from the company’s website, so get your hands on one while you can.  It may be the best way to keep cool if your power grid suddenly goes down at 3:00 in the afternoon in July.

Source: Toy Hobby Market via Nikkei Trendy Net (Japanese)

And, one design an adult male might not be embarrassed to carry around.